Embroider a Pillowcase for Memory Care Patients

Learn how to embroider a pillowcase with our free pattern, plus donate it to a charity of your choice.

We’re focusing our charity sewing effort on Memory Care facilities this month, and partnered with a facility to provide them with personalized pillowcases for their residents. If you’d like to join our effort and embroider a pillowcase, comment on this post and we’ll provide you with a name of a resident and mailing instructions for your pillowcase. This partnership will end March 16, 2019. After that time, or in lieu of participating in our effort, please contact a facility in your neighborhood and ask if they’d take pillowcase donations. Or embroider a pillowcase and donate it to a charity of your choice.

How to Embroider a Pillowcase

Each pillowcase is personalized with a resident’s name and a motif. I learned about Roberta and her love of dogs, so I chose a dog design. On the machine screen, I first chose the largest hoop size available. Then I added a dog design and the resident’s name in a fun font. I grouped the entire design and sized it to run vertically in the hoop from upper to lower edge. If you have a smaller hoop (mine is 360×260), consider breaking up the design into two hoopings, depending on the name length. The embroidery area is 3 3/4″x19″ so make sure the design isn’t taller than 3 3/4″ or longer than 19″; resize as needed.

To embroider a pillowcase along the cuff, first hoop Sulky Sticky Plus™ stabilizer with the paper side facing up.

Score the paper carefully to avoid slicing through the stabilizer underneath. Then peel away the paper backing to reveal the adhesive. (Find more instruction on working with Sulky stabilizers.)

Perfect Placement

Fold the cuff fabric in half lengthwise; press. Fold the cuff in half widthwise; press. Fold right hald in half widthwise; press to create a center foldline. The lower half is the available embroidery area, save for seam allowances.

Center the lower half quadrant onto the sticky stabilizer in the hoop, aligning the widthwise center foldline and hoop cross marks. (Note: the hoop is positioned sideways in order to view the foldline orientation correctly.)

Embroider the design using Sulky 40wt. rayon thread in the chosen colors. I changed the colors of the thread in the design to reflect my fabric choice. The featured design and font are built-in designs on the Husqvarna Viking Designer Epic sewing and embroidery machine.

Construct the Pillowcase

Follow the pillowcase construction instructions to stitch the cuff to the main pillowcase fabric, and create an enclosed seam. Notice the placement of the embroidery below–the cuff fabric is right side down, with the embroidery on the left side and oriented away from the seamline.

Stitch the final French seam along the sides and lower edge, and then turn the pillowcase right side out.

Give the pillowcase a final press and insert a pillow.

Use these instructions to personalize any type of pillowcase–even a purchased pillowcase will work using the hoopless embroidery method and Sulky Sticky Plus.

Due to HIPPA laws, we are unable to provide the name of the facility we are partnering with. The pillowcases made for this effort need to be shipped to a volunteer who has agreed to deliver the pillowcases to the facility. Once the facility receives a pillowcase for each resident, we will no longer accept donations. This post will be continually updated with photos of residents receiving their pillowcases.

Here are some residents receiving their pillowcases.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Next month we will highlight another charity, so keep the pillowcases coming!